Happy wife, happy life. I gave up all my musical aspirations to be a husband & father. I have zero regret, & I still get to play bass.
Get the house.
Get the house.
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New House or New Bass
- Thread starter Acoustic356
- Start date
First off, can we just crack a smile as we acknowledge that the choice between a $12k bass guitar and a new beach house is one of the most hilariously 1-Percenter problems we've ever faced here on Talkbass, a forum which already skews toward the wealthiest slice of the worlds population.
That said...
Unless your wife is a terribly unreasonable person, the goodwill you will generate by happily embracing the new place will pay off in spades for you. Unless the home turns out to be a complete lemon money pit, I estimate you'll be playing your new $15k bass on the porch of the lake house in 5 years tops.
That said...
Heck yeah buy the house!
Unless your wife is a terribly unreasonable person, the goodwill you will generate by happily embracing the new place will pay off in spades for you. Unless the home turns out to be a complete lemon money pit, I estimate you'll be playing your new $15k bass on the porch of the lake house in 5 years tops.
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Wow - first world problems huh?
Just out of curiosity what bass is it and would it go up in value?
Just out of curiosity what bass is it and would it go up in value?
Sounds great. What do the cold beverages play?
Happy wife, happy life, so the saying goes. I'm single because I chose the bass.
I don't think you're ready to buy a house if you need to steal from some other fund to pay for closing costs. How much down payment does she want to make if she doesn't even have enough $$ for closing?
IMO, this isn't how one buys property.
Doing it is a serious thing, and you get all your ducks in a row (like cash and pre-approvals) before you start really looking.
Is she house-looking rationally? Or is she talking about waiving contingencies and paying over asking, as is happening a lot at the moment?
IMO, this isn't how one buys property.
Doing it is a serious thing, and you get all your ducks in a row (like cash and pre-approvals) before you start really looking.Is she house-looking rationally? Or is she talking about waiving contingencies and paying over asking, as is happening a lot at the moment?
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Funny how not a single person thinks the wife should be accountable for her agreement. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I think it's a great idea to buy a $12,000 bass, but she should honor her agreement.
Having said that, it's just my humble opinion, but musical instruments should be purchased out of fun money. If you have to choose between a house and a bass, you probably couldn't really afford the bass. People get confused between what they can pay for and what they can afford. I could pay for a house three times the cost of the one I bought, but I'd be house poor so I couldn't really afford it.
EDIT - how many times have you seen people selling musical instruments because their car broke down, or they have medical bills? They had they money to buy the instrument, but they couldn't really afford the instrument.
Having said that, it's just my humble opinion, but musical instruments should be purchased out of fun money. If you have to choose between a house and a bass, you probably couldn't really afford the bass. People get confused between what they can pay for and what they can afford. I could pay for a house three times the cost of the one I bought, but I'd be house poor so I couldn't really afford it.
EDIT - how many times have you seen people selling musical instruments because their car broke down, or they have medical bills? They had they money to buy the instrument, but they couldn't really afford the instrument.
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I, too, lean towards buying the lake house. I think the argument is less "it will appreciate" (though it probably will) and more "it's a purchase that many people will enjoy." But! This is a conversation between you and your wife. We can bring you arguments as to why the lake house is better, but it's ultimately up to you and her. People have mentioned her resentment building, but you also need to make sure your own resentment doesn't build. Partnership is about compromise and making sure that both of you are satisfied with the decisions made. I think everybody commenting here wouldn't even consider taking the bass over the lake house, whereas you clearly are, so our feelings can't be substituted for your own.
I'm not going to say you shouldn't need/want/deserve a $12K bass. Only you can decide that. I don't know what other basses you have. I am having a bit of a revelation on basses these days. I am playing my "cheap" basses more and have sold one of my "better" basses. But that's me. I would certainly contact the builder, explain the situation and see what you can work out. Maybe you can save some of that deposit. Worth a try, right?
I also won't tell you how you and your wife should handle finances as that again is your business but...always house. They almost never go down in value. A mortgage is "good debt" as interest has been low, tax deductible and it's great for your credit rating. A lake place is highly valued where I live, almost a status symbol. You can always find/get/build another bass. There is only so much lake property available.
I also won't tell you how you and your wife should handle finances as that again is your business but...always house. They almost never go down in value. A mortgage is "good debt" as interest has been low, tax deductible and it's great for your credit rating. A lake place is highly valued where I live, almost a status symbol. You can always find/get/build another bass. There is only so much lake property available.
It sounds like the house is the fun-money impulse purchase here: money for closing costs (never mind down payment!) wasn't even set aside yet.
You'll get no argument from me. The OP and his wife definitely need to tighten up their financial goal planning - how to decide on them and how to implement them.
I hadn't considered that they might be going 0% down. If that is the case, I absolutely reverse my decision and back the bass. If you have what you assumed would be the closing costs and down payment set aside and those ended up being higher than expected, eating into a fun money purchase, that's okay as long as you know you can afford the house. But 0% down is, in my opinion, a terrible idea on any financed purchase. Real estate usually goes up, but it doesn't always, and when it goes down, usually a lot of other things are happening. It would be terrible to be upside down on a mortgage (for a second home) and lose your source of income.
What's the poison in being single with a $12,000 bass?
per the OP: i voted "lakehouse" --- seems obvious to me (for the myriad reasons already posted), but in case that POV needs extra reinforcement: no EB on earth is actually worth 12K if it's made out of wood with the usual hardware/electronic parts...i mean, think about it!
good luck! 
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Is the new bass a money making tool or an objet d'art? Will the bass or the house bring the highest ROI?
Could you get the 1200 deposit transferred to another buyer? It's only a bass and a house. You're alive and well. Make the best of that.
Does the lake house have a back door? One you can just open up and brag about money with?
This is a conversation to have with your wife not strangers on a forum IMO.
This is a conversation to have with your wife not strangers on a forum IMO.
